Known machines for cellophaning packets of cigarettes operate substantially in steps, i.e. as opposed to continuously, which seriously limits the maximum operating speed of the machine on account of the maximum acceleration the packets of cigarettes can safely be subjected to without being damaged. The aforementioned known cellophaning packets are constructively similar to the packing machine disclosed U.S. Pat. No. 4,144,695.
Continuous cellophaning machines have been proposed featuring a wrapping wheel comprising a number of conveyor heads, each for engaging a packet of cigarettes and a respective sheet of wrapping material; and, for each conveyor head, the wrapping wheel comprises a number of active and/or passive wrapping fixtures for folding and stabilizing the sheet of wrapping material to form a tubular wrapping about the product.
For example, GB-A-1,134,500 and GB-A-2,235,913 disclose continuous cellophaning machines of the type referred to above.
Known cellophaning machines of the above type, however, are expensive and difficult to produce on account of the complex design of the wrapping wheel, in turn due to the large number of moving components on the wheel.
Moreover, each conveyor head on known cellophaning machines of the above type is allowed only a limited degree of movement on account of the wrapping fixtures about the head, which restriction makes it extremely difficult to feed the product and respective sheet of wrapping material continuously to the head, and to continuously unload the product enclosed in the tubular wrapping off the head.